CHAPTER 10 Culture, Communication, and Intercultural Relationships
CHAPTER 10
CULTURE, COMMUNICATION, AND INTERCULTURAL
RELATIONSHIPS
1. Which of the following is NOT true about the benefits of intercultural relationships?
a. They can help break stereotypes.
b. They may teach us something about history.
c. They do not last as long as same culture relationships.
d. They may help us acquire new skills.
2. Talal, a Middle Eastern student, finds himself attracted to Guo Hongwu, a Chinese student in
his economics class. After several conversations, he has found that despite their different cultural
backgrounds, they have many of the same opinions and experiences in the United States. Talal
and Hongwu’s relationship illustrates the _____ principle for relationship formation.
a. heterosexual
b. similarity
c. difference
d. physical attraction
3. When we seek out people who have different personality traits, we are looking for a(n) _____
relationship.
a. complementary
b. intercultural
c. physical
d. heterosexual
4. Which of the following is NOT true about U.S. relationships?
a. Honesty and individuality are more important than harmony and collectivism.
b. Understanding, respect, and sincerity are more important than togetherness, trust, and warmth.
c. Physical attraction and passion are not as important as similar backgrounds and compatibility.
d. In intimate relationships, it is important to have openness and talk things out.
5. Which of the following is NOT true about gay relationships?
a. Men in gay relationships tend to seek emotional support from same-sex friendships.
b. Close friendships may be more important to a gay person than a straight person due to
discrimination and hostility.
CHAPTER 10 Culture, Communication, and Intercultural Relationships
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c. Although friendships between gay people start with sexual attraction and involvement, they
often last after the sexual involvement is terminated.
d. They are formed primarily for physical intimacy.
6. Which of the following is NOT true about the similarity principle in relationship formation?
a. We are attracted to people who hold similar beliefs to ours.
b. It doesn’t matter if people are truly similar as long as we think they are.
c. There must be a certain degree of physical similarity for a relationship to last.
d. When people think they are similar, they have higher expectations for future interactions.
7. Elizabeth, a U.S. American student, and Ahmad, an international student from Turkey, find
that although they are of different faiths, their attitudes about the role of religion in everyday life
are very much alike. This realization surprised Elizabeth but illustrates _____, a theme in
intercultural relationships.
a. competence
b. similarity
c. involvement
d. turning points
8. Experiences or conversations that move a relationship either forward or backward are known
as _____, a theme in intercultural relationships.
a. competence
b. similarity
c. involvement
d. turning points
9. Tamaya and Monique make sure that they find time to talk to each other every day and plan
weekly activities together. They share many of the same friends, and in their conversations, they
often share their feelings concerning personal issues. Tamaya and Monique’s friendship
illustrates _____, a theme in intercultural relationships.
a. involvement
b. similarity
c. competence
d. a turning point
10. The most desirable style of interaction in intercultural marriage, _____, is based on
agreement and negotiation.
a. compromise
b. obliteration
c. consensus
d. submission
CHAPTER 10 Culture, Communication, and Intercultural Relationships
11. Roger and Adair are in an intercultural marriage. They have both agreed to give up certain
aspects of their culture, but now Adair is starting to resent giving up some of the things she grew
up with. Roger and Adair have probably used the _____ style of interaction in intercultural
marriage.
a. obliteration
b. compromise
c. consensus
d. submission
12. Keiko, who grew up in Japan, and Wahid, who grew up in Egypt, met and married in the
United States. They have decided to stay in the United States and “become American” rather
than negotiate the differences between their two cultures. Keiki and Wahid are most likely using
the _____ style of interaction.
a. obliteration
b. compromise
c. submission
d. consensus
13. The _____ style of interaction in intercultural marriage occurs when each person gives up
some of his or her culturally bound beliefs in order to accommodate the other.
a. obliteration
b. compromise
c. submission
d. consensus
14. Which of the following does NOT characterize an intercultural alliance?
a. identification of power and unearned privilege
b. orientations of affirmation
c. the use of compromise and submission in making decisions
d. acknowledgement of the impact of history
15. The most common style of interaction in intercultural marriage, _____, occurs when one
partner abandons his or her own culture in favor of his or her partner’s culture.
a. compromise
b. obliteration
c. consensus
d. submission
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16. Darrell is the father of five children. He has been married for 16 years and is friends with Joe,
a gay man who has been in a relationship with the same man for eight years. Darrell says that
before he met Joe, he thought that all gays were simply interested in sex, and that his friendship
and conversations with Joe have taught him otherwise. Joe and Darrell’s friendship is an example
of how intercultural friendships can _____.
a. help to break stereotypes
b. teach us something about history
c. learn more general information
d. help us acquire new skills
17. In what ways are intercultural relationships similar to intracultural relationships?
a. There is a similar amount of anxiety during the early stages of the relationship.
b. They take the same basic amount of work and effort.
c. They pass through the same developmental stages.
d. They are based on the same notions of attraction.
18. Which of the following is among the major concerns of people in intercultural marriages?
a. gender roles and raising children
b. relational satisfaction and sexual intimacy
c. living arrangements
d. illness and suffering
19. Deanna never knew Kristen was gay until Deanna made a comment about the guys on the
“Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” television show. Kristen’s choice to come out and educate
Deanna marked a(n) _____ in their relationship because that’s when they felt that they really
started to know one another.
a. involvement
b. turning point
c. similarity
d. negative stereotyping
20. Recognizing and accepting that another person might have beliefs, perceptions, and attitudes
different from our own is part of _____, a challenge in intercultural relationships.
a. affirming another’s cultural identity
b. the need for explanations
c. differences in communication styles
d. negative stereotypes
21. Deidre has studied Japanese since high school. Despite her language skills, when she meets
visitors from Japan, she worries that she may offend them or look stupid. Diedre is encountering
_____, a challenge in intercultural relationships.
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a. affirming another’s cultural identity
b. the need for explanations
c. anxiety
d. negative stereotypes
22. Vivian, an African American, finds that she seems to explain how she and Janet, a European
American, became friends much more frequently than she has to explain her friendships with
other African Americans. Sometimes she and Janet laugh about the curiosity of others. Vivian
and Janet have encountered _____, a challenge in intercultural relationships.
a. affirming another’s cultural identity
b. the need for explanations
c. anxiety
d. negative stereotypes
23. Craig,an overweight man, finds that he can meet and talk to people on the internet much
more easily than he can at social gatherings, because they do not form their first impressions
about him based on his appearance. Craig’s experience illustrates how _____, one of the three
ways in which computer-mediated communication (CMC) is beneficial.
a. CMC affirms another‘s cultural identity
b. CMC is an opportunity to communicate with people who are different
c. CMC filters out information related to physical attractiveness, age, and height
d. CMC relationships may be more intense
24. Which of the following statements is true of guanxi?
a. It is the same as friendship.
b. It is a reflection of individualism in a society.
c. It mandates that jobs be earned only through perseverance and skill.
d. It requires purposeful cultivation of relationships.
25. In the context of relational development, the study conducted by Hotta and Ting-Toomey
(2013) revealed that:
a. European Americans disclosed a wide range of relatively superficial information with many
people.
b. conversational rules applied to the development of close friendships.
c. time was an important element in the friendship decisions of international students.
d. U.S. students consider international students to be merely acquaintances.
26. In their study of children who immigrated from the former Soviet Union to Israel, Elias, and
Lemish (2009) found that the internet:
a. prevented the children from integrating into Israeli life.
b. bridged the gap between their former lives and friends.
CHAPTER 10 Culture, Communication, and Intercultural Relationships
c. hindered their development of hybrid identities.
d. allowed them to resist cultural adaptation.
27. Which of the following statements is true of the obliteration style of interaction between
couples?
a. One partner gives up some part of his or her own cultural habits and beliefs.
b. An attempt is made by both partners to erase individual cultures to deal with differences.
c. One partner denies or abandons his or her own culture.
d. Both partners give and take, and it is not a trade-off.
28. Information about other people’s identity based on visible physical characteristics is referred
to as:
a. relational learning.
b. self-disclosure.
c. line of sight.
d. cognitive consistency.
29. Having a logical connection between existing knowledge and a new stimulus is known as
_____.
a. the similarity principle
b. the proximity principle
c. cognitive consistency
d. relational learning
30. Generally, relationships across age groups, physical ability, class, or race have the same
amount of anxiety in the initial stages.
31. Intercultural interactions in which one or both parties have few negative expectations and no
negative stereotypes prior contact probably have less anxiety.
32. Actual similarity is a greater factor than perceived similarity in relationship formation.
33. The term “friend” has pretty much the same meaning in all cultural groups.
